This document discusses the debate around job titles for dental professionals with dual qualifications as a dental hygienist and dental therapist. Several dental therapists provide their opinions on whether they refer to themselves as a hygienist, therapist, or both. Many feel using only the title "therapist" promotes their full scope of practice and could help patients better understand their role, but that the term needs to be more widely known by the public. The debate touches on the history of separate hygienist and therapist qualifications and regulation in the UK. Overall, the document examines the arguments around appropriate job titles and how changing perceptions could influence the future of dental care.

1. FEATURE
www.nature.com/BDJTeam BDJ Team 22
N
ame-calling – it’s a tricky
one, isn’t it? Many may argue
that a name is an arbitrary
label – surely, all we need to
know is what something is,
not necessarily what it is called. And, why
must we assign so much importance to a
simple job title? As a dually qualified dental
hygienist and dental therapist, you know what
you are and what you do, you are fully aware
what you qualified as and understand what
treatments you are entitled to carry out within
your Scope of Practice on qualifying. But,
how many patients appreciate the role? Come
to think of it, how many other members of
the dental team are fully up to speed with
what dentistry a dental therapist may deliver
within the workplace? Additionally, does
every dental therapist carry out his or her full
Scope of Practice on a day-to-day basis? And,
if not – and a lot of the work is hygiene based
– then is it sometimes far simpler to stick
with the ‘hygienist’ handle than call yourself
a ‘therapist’? Interestingly, the General Dental
Council (GDC) does not recognise the term
‘hygienist/therapist’ – if a patient wishes to
search its registers, the options are in the
singular: you are either a dental hygienist or a
dental therapist. But the debate over job title
continues to rage – a look at any of the social
media dental forums bear testimony to this,
with dental therapists (and other members
of the dental team) debating it ad infinitum;
strong views aired on either side of the fence
with heartfelt passion and reasoned argument
well matched.
Simple act
Here, we hear from British Association of
Dental Therapists about what they think
a dental therapist should be named, and
consider how the very simple act of what you
call yourself may, in fact, change not only the
mind set of our patients but could shape the
future of the delivery of dentistry.
QA
The full Scope of Practice for a dental
therapist can be found here – https://
www.gdc-uk.org/Newsandpublications/
Publications/Publications/Scope%20of%20
Practice%20September%202013.pdf.
We asked dental therapists the following three
questions and their answers follow…
1. If you have dual qualification, what do you
refer to yourself as and why?
2. Do you think it matters to a patient what
you are?
3. Do you think the title, ‘dental therapist’
could supersede ‘dental hygiene/therapist’
if you have dual qualification or does this
remain an acceptable title?
What’s in a
name?
©Tuadesk/iStockphoto/Thinkstock
Passions run high when it comes to job titles. So, what should dually qualified
dental hygienists and dental therapists call themselves – and why? Here, we
poll the BADT council

2. Jacky Hart –
‘Promote the
name’
I refer to myself as
a dental therapist
and, where patients are
concerned, I usually briefly explain the
remit of a dental therapist, including
being able to do all aspects of hygiene
work. I strongly feel the job title of dental
therapist needs to be promoted at every
opportunity – both to the general public
and the dental profession.
Victoria Wilson
– ‘Enlighten the
general public’
I call myself a dental
hygiene therapist, as I
still feel the public are not
fully aware of the role of the therapist.
I’m often asked the question: ‘What is
a therapist?’ and I guess this is a call
to action to raise awareness and fully
educate patients of our role. I think it is
extremely important for our future that
the title of ‘dental therapist’ supersedes
‘dental hygiene therapist’. But we need to
enlighten the general public first.
FEATURE
23 BDJ Team www.nature.com/BDJTeam
President Fiona Sandom –‘It is important to have clarity’
I initially trained as a dental nurse, then a dental hygienist and then a dental
therapist. I call myself a dental therapist because that describes what I can do.
I don’t need to call myself a hygienist and a therapist because, as a therapist,
my Scope of Practice includes the skills of a hygienist. A dentist would not call
him- or herself a dental hygienist/therapist/technician/dentist, would they?
I believe this term ‘hygienist/therapist’ stems from the dental schools and is incorrect; the
GDC does not recognise this term. It is also confusing for patients to have this inconsistency. If
you refer to the medical model, there are practice nurses and nurse practitioners and patients
have come to recognise and accept the difference. Why has this not transferred to dentistry? It
is important for there to be clarity, so that patients are aware about who they are seeing and are
able to determine the dental hygienist’s or dental therapist’s Scope of Practice – especially in
light of direct access. It is really important for patients to be able to make an informed choice
about the DCP they are seeing. How can they find out from the GDC about a hygienist/
therapist when, in reality, one doesn’t exist?
Secretary Mel Prebble – ‘The profession overestimates what
patients might think’
From a marketing point of view, I use the term ‘hygienist’ in my title to
attract patients but, although I tell patients I’m a hygienist, I occasionally
try to explain what a therapist is, too. Professionally, I refer to myself as a
therapist. I don’t think patients care what we are so long as we are professional and
communicate well and I think the profession overestimates what patients might think. It would
make life simpler if the term ‘therapist’ was all encompassing of our skills and we didn’t have to
try to use both all of the time.
That said I’m not a fan of the word ‘therapist’ as, for some patients, it implies something
else. I once treated an elderly patient who thought she had been sent to a beauty therapist for a
filling! I also think people think we fix scared people’s heads so they can visit a dentist.
Katrina Matthews –
‘The title“therapist”
suggests empathy’
I have a single
qualification as a therapist
and always explain to my
patients and to the general public what
I am trained to do and promote my
profession.
People like the title ‘therapist’ as it
suggests the empathetic skills we have.
Therapist/hygienist is not a registered
professional name by the GDC and so I
understand the confusion by the public.
With dual qualification, I think therapist
is the best title for the future.
Amanda Gallie –
‘Too confusing’
I call myself a dental
therapist now as it’s
less of a mouthful and as
it’s my latest qualification.
Perhaps we need a fresh, new title such as
‘oral health therapist’ – or something of
the ilk. A hygienist/therapist just sounds
too confusing. Patients continue not to be
aware of dental therapists and that’s what
we need to change.
ME A THERAPIST, TOO’
I EXPECT OTHERS TO CALL
MYSELF A THERAPIST AND
‘I AM A THERAPIST, I CALL
A THERAPIST?’
THE QUESTION: ‘WHAT IS
‘I’M OFTEN ASKED

3. FEATURE
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Debbie McGovern
– ‘Reminds our
employers we have
additional skills’
If therapists call
themselves hygienists they
will only be treated as so and only get
hygienist-related patients. If we use the
title ‘dental therapist’, it reminds our
employers we have additional skills. I
intend to drill this into all final-year
students!
Debbie Hemington – ‘We need to target the profession so they
gain an understanding of what therapists can do’
I qualified as a therapist first in 1983 at New Cross, which as you will know
was the only training school in the UK from 1960-83. We did not qualify
as hygienists, as they were two completely separate qualifications at that time.
Therapists were restricted to working in community or hospitals at that time
and treating mainly children and we were not trained in periodontal disease or treatment
to the same level as a hygienist. We could not work in practice as a hygienist unless we had
done a separate hygiene qualification. It is here where the distinction and separation between
‘hygienist’ and ‘therapist’ originated.
After having worked for several years in community, I trained as a hygienist (a full course,
not a shortened course) in order to open up my employment opportunities. Dually qualified
practitioners were rare in those days and we had to call ourselves ‘hygienist and therapist’ as
they were different jobs in those days, and had separate GDC registers, too. I could not work in
practice at that time if I used the title ‘therapist’, even if I was providing hygiene treatments, and
I could not do any restorative treatment in community or hospital if I used the title ‘hygienist’.
This changed when the restriction on therapists’ employment was lifted. There are still many
singly qualified therapists still working and, although many have brushed up on their perio
knowledge by way of CPD courses etc, they do not have a formal hygiene qualification.
This is the true origin of the double-barrelled title, along with the term ‘dually qualified’.
The dental schools often had – and, indeed, still do have – schools of dental hygiene and
dental therapy, as students sat both exams and both qualifications were awarded. The term
‘hygiene therapist’ doesn’t exist as a title, and has been an attempt by the profession to show
there is a difference in some therapist qualifications. So, what do I call myself? It all depends
who I am talking to! Socially, I will say I am a dental hygienist and therapist, as Joe Public only
really understands the term ‘hygienist’, although I will always explain what a therapist does.
If I am in professional company, I will say I am a hygienist and therapist. Many fellow dental
professionals still separate the two skills, and there are still singly qualified hygienists being
trained, although they are in a minority.
But there is a need to target the profession so they gain an understanding of what therapists
can do, that their training includes perio and, just as important, they should be aware of
the level to which we study. There is no difference in the curriculum if it is a BsC course or
Diploma course, but dentists often think it is a very basic education. This is illustrated in some
of the editorials that have appeared over recent years, especially when discussing direct access.
Julie Ellis – ‘Actively
discourage the use
of this title’
My qualification is as
a dental therapist and I
think it does matter that the
patients know us by our correct title. We
need to do away with this notion of being
‘dually qualified’ All recent graduates
are dental therapists whose training has
covered the full remit. The only way
you can get the title of hygienist now is
if you, fail final therapy exams and exit
early, which I believe happens in a few
universities). Or train specifically for that
role, which I think is only available in one
training school now. The title hygiene/
therapist does not officially exist and I
think we need to actively discourage the
use of this title. We need to use the title
of ‘therapist’ as much as possible and,
if more people referred to themselves
as therapists, even if they are employed
carrying out hygiene duties only, they are
more likely to referred therapy work.
‘THERAPIST’ AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE’
‘WE NEED TO USE THE TITLE OF
I AM TALKING TO!’
‘IT ALL DEPENDS WHO

4. Diane Lockhart –
‘Caution must be
taken to ensure
others do not feel
less valued’
When working as a hygienist
(as required by my contract), I call myself
a hygienist. When utilising both roles, I
call myself a hygienist therapist and this
is more for ease. On occasions, when I
have called myself a therapist, patients
have been known to question why they
were not seeing a hygienist. This usually
takes up valuable appointment time to
explain that I am qualified in both roles. I
really do think it matters to most patients
and always introduce myself. Technically,
with the current training, ‘therapist’
does need to supersede ‘hygienist’ as
our job title (or therapist only with no
hygiene qualification) but this may be
a very emotive issue to all those with
one qualification. It is very important to
raise awareness of dental therapists, but
caution must be taken to ensure others
do not feel less valued within the team.
FEATURE
25 BDJ Team www.nature.com/BDJTeam
bdjteam2015XXX
Madalyne Tucker – ‘So long as my patients are happy’
This is an interesting question which causes lots of discussion especially
between the dually and singular qualified. As a dually qualified I used
to call myself ‘hygienist/therapist’ or ‘DHT’ for short as this is what we
were referred to as at dental school. I have two separate qualifications so
never had a problem using both in my title and I still don’t! I have had many
discussions with other therapists, some quite heated. The argument that we should call
ourselves ‘therapists’ is a valid one, as we need to promote ourselves as part of the dental
team; we are still an ‘unknown’ as far as the general public is concerned.
I work with practice owner and dental hygienist, Christina Chatfield, who still refers
to me as a hygienist/therapist on her website and when talking to her patients. I asked
to be called a therapist and we had quite a debate. Her answer was purely from both a
marketing and business perspective because patients do not know what a therapist is but
they all know a hygienist and feel comfortable with that. I also understand this viewpoint.
I personally do not like the term ‘therapist ‘ it’s a very misleading title as is DCP.
To be honest, I am not really too concerned what I’m called – ‘therapist’, ‘hygienist’, ‘DHT’
– so long as my patients are happy!
Anne Marie Yarwood – ‘Dual name is misleading’
I qualified at New Cross in 1979 and then had a 21-year gap, only to return
to dental therapy in 2005, working in a general dental practice for 10 years.
Dental therapists were trained by the NHS and fully funded and were
intended to work for the NHS in a community or hospital setting. Telling
therapists they could not be employed as hygienists may have been a ploy to
prevent trained therapists draining away for more lucrative work. I for one had a lot of dental
hygiene work, with patients who had a wide variety of needs, referred to me in community.
Having done the three months of additional training required to gain a hygienist title, some
therapists believed they had not gained any more knowledge. When jobs were scarce in the
1980s, it made sense to attend a hygiene short course to obtain a ‘licence’, allowing therapists to
widen their scope for employment. The dual name is misleading. If the therapist job role were
more widely understood by the public (and other members of the dental team,), there would
be no need to expand the title into sections in an effort to explain what we do. Dental therapy
is a professional qualification just as dentist is a dentist and not a dentist-therapist-hygienist.
Orthodontists don’t call themselves orthodontist-dentist-therapist-hygienist, do they? In fact
I would take it one step further and make it a rule that those therapists who are employed in
a hygienist job should actually still call themselves a dental therapist. The general public, I
believe, may be better pleased to learn that a more qualified member of the dental profession is
attending to their oral hygiene needs. In my workplace, I always insist the dentist refers patients
to the therapists and does not call us hygienists. It is inaccurate and also only perpetuates the
confusion when patients are unable to find their DCP on the GDC registered ‘hygienist’ list.
Can you handle it?
Seemingly, views are varied but
what do you think? The BADT would
love to hear the thoughts of other
members of the dental profession
on the importance of a professional
name. Email secretary.badt@
gmail.com or post on the BADT’s
Facebook page or tweet
@BADT1963.
‘THE DUAL NAME IS MISLEADING’
CALL THEMSELVES A DENTAL THERAPIST’
IN A HYGIENIST JOB SHOULD ACTUALLY STILL
‘THERAPISTS WHO ARE EMPLOYED